Forms of Catholic Churches Made of Reinforced Concrete in the Czech Republic

The twentieth century was the era of reinforced concrete structures, structures of great spans, varied shapes and forms. Widespread use of concrete has led to the application of reinforced concrete structures in sacral buildings since the 1920s. However the commencements are visible since the beginning of the 20th century (church St. Jean du Montmartre in Paris (1894-1904) by Anatole de Baudot; church Der Heilige Geist in Vienna (1909-1911) by Josip Plecnik and the iconic church Notre Dame in Le Raincy (1922-1923) by the brothers Perret). The application of this new material began at the beginning of the 20th century. It was used for the stressed elements of the structure, predominantly for the foundations and vaults. Since the end of the 1920s reinforced concrete structures gain their irreplaceable position in the sacral architecture. The first attempts are connected with the functionalistic architecture. The aim of this project is firstly to make a complete list of the reinforced concrete Catholic churches in the Czech Republic from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. Secondly, analyse the space forms and the structure efficiency of the churches and finally, divide these objects to the groups according to their shapes and forms, architectural styles and the period, when they were built.